May-June 2023 Boise County Guide

Welcome

To Boise County, located in the West Central Mountains of Idaho, just one hour north of Idaho’s capital city, Boise. The area is the host and backyard playground to many from the “city of trees.” The recreational opportunities are endless and the feeling of having a rural distant, mountain adventure is real. Early summer brings a host of exciting events to the area!

Terrace Lakes Wine & Art Festival

The 2023 Wine and Art Festival is being held Saturday, June 24th right on the green grass of Terrace Lakes Resort Golf Course in Garden Valley. The Festival draws artisans from throughout the northwest, and makes for an enjoyable day of art, food, music & wine in the mountains. http:// www.terracelakes.com/-wine-and-artfestival-information

19th Annual Gold Dust Rodeo

June 23 & 24, 2023 at the Jim Haswell Arena in Idaho City. Bring your lawn chair and enjoy Rodeo in the mountains!

www.golddustrodeo.com

Only One Hour From Boise!

By travelling on three designated scenic byways, you can make a loop trip. From Boise, take Highway 55 to Lowman (be sure and stop in Garden Valley/Crouch). Then go west on Highway 21 through historic Idaho City. The loop is 120 miles.

Idaho City 100

The 2023 Idaho City 100 is a 2-Day, AMA sanctioned Reliability Enduro national level event held in the mountainous forests surrounding Idaho City. It is held annually, the weekend after Memorial Day. This year’s event is scheduled for June 3-4. There is also a youth scramble scheduled. www.boiseridgeriders.org.

Annual spring drive to graze in the mountains surrounding Crouch/Garden Valley.

Idaho City

Just an hour drive from Boise, along scenic Highway 21, is the classic western town of Idaho City, which for a period in the 1860’s, was

The largest city in the Northwest. It was in the Boise Basin, which surrounds present day Idaho City, that gold was first discovered in southern Idaho, and over the next twenty years or so, more than $250,000,000 worth of the precious metal was taken from the basin.

Boise County also accounted for much of the early logging activity in Southern Idaho. The wealth produced by mining and logging operations fueled the development of the area well into the twentieth century.

The mining towns of Idaho City, Placerville, Centerville, Atlanta, etc, supported a large timber market, but the mountainous terrain, and lack of railroads made lumber transportation outside of the mountains difficult.

Lumber companies soon realized that commercial lumbering couldn’t develop in the Boise forests without adequate rail transportation. The Barber Mill, located six miles north of Boise, played a huge role in the development of a lumber railroad.

Intermountain Railway and Barber Mill

Frank Steunenberg, former Idaho governor started a project at the turn of the century to bring Wisconsin and Minnesota lumbermen over to Boise forests. Steunenberg attracted the attention of Barber Lumber Company (Wisconsin) bought 25,000 acres north of Boise, along Grime’s and More’s creeks, in 1902. Construction on Barber Dam and Sawmill began in 1904 and was completed in 1905. But only a year later, in 1906, Barber realized they would need a railroad to transport logs.

The company had originally intended to transport the logs with log drives down More’s and Grime’s creeks, but they soon realized the creeks would not support log drives. Silt from earlier upstream mining threatened to fill and clog the log pond during high water, the only practical time to have a log drive.

Another obstacle for the Barber Lumber Company came when the company attempted to buy more forest acreage to supplement the land they already owned. The State Land Board wouldn’t sell the land for less than $150,000 per 12,000 acres (an outrageous price at the time).

A combination of issues contributed to Barber Mill shutting its doors in 1908, but the Barber Lumber Company didn’t give up. They kept pushing for the construction of the Intermountain Railway and a lower price on the land they wanted to purchase.

Four years later, in 1912, the Barber litigation was solved, and the United States Reclamation Service started construction on a rail line (a third of the way to Centerville from Boise). Around the same time, the State Land Board offered to sell Barber the timber they wanted for $100,000 (but not the land). Further arguments took the case to the Idaho Supreme Court, where the sale of timber AND land was upheld, as long as the Barber Company would build a rail line, enhancing the value of the other state lands. Barber Mill reopened in 1912.

In 1914, plans to construct the Intermountain Railway began and the Barber Lumber Company merged with the Payette Lumber and Manufacturing Company becoming the Boise Payette Lumber Co.

The Intermountain Railway was built from just north of Boise to New Centerville, following the Boise River, Grime’s Creek, and More’s Creek. The total cost of construction was $1,037,499, equal to $24,725,261 today. During construction of the rail line, four logging spurs (dirt roads) were built to assist lumber companies in log transportation.

With the completion of the Intermountain Railway, the Boise Payette Company saw a huge boost in profits and remained profitable throughout the 1920s. However, early in the 1930s, as the market became depressed, the company started taking huge losses, which led to the closing of Barber Mill in 1934, it was never reopened. The Intermountain Railway service was suspended in the 30s as well and later was replaced by Highway 21 (Boise to Idaho City).

 



 



     

Walking tour through the City.

Horseshoe Bend

Horseshoe Bend is the largest city in rural Boise County, in the southwestern part of Idaho. Its population of 800+/- at the 2020 census was the largest in the county.

The town is named for its location at the horseshoe-shaped U-turn of the Payette River, whose flow direction changes from south to north before heading west to the Black Canyon Reservoir.

The welcome sign sits prominently at the junction of Hwy 55 and Hwy 52, with the iconic rock “H” overlooking the town on the hills in the background.

Horseshoe Bend - Real Estate

Just north of Horseshoe Bend on Hwy 55 lies Banks - a popular rafting put-in.

Lowman is located along the eastern edge of the Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway, 40 miles east of Banks. The traveler will marvel at the deep canyon created by the powerful Payette River. Steep canyon walls provide shelter for wildlife throughout the area. Waterfalls drop through narrow canyon walls offering some spectacular views of nature. All along the route are USFS campgrounds, several of which have natural hot springs to soak in. These campgrounds are well maintained and accessible to all travelers. After enjoying the wildlife and scenery you can enjoy a meal in Lowman. Area restaurants and businesses offer all who venture by a place to relax and enjoy the day. Several lodging options and cabins are available for overnight accommodations can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Kirkham Hot Springs, located near the Boise National Forest campground of the same name, features somewhat shallow rock pools (unimproved) with sand/rock bottoms next to the river. The multiple hot waterfalls are quite a sight! Both the pools and hot waterfalls can be seen from a large pullout off highway 21 on the west side of the campground. Spring soaking can help one avoid the full-house use of the summer and winter seasons.

Kirkham additionally serves as an interpretive site for geothermal activity. There is a trail that winds through the seeps and sources which continuously provide the hot springs pools with fresh mineral water. There are signs along the way that describe the hot springs and area history.

Garden Valley - Area Attractions

Garden Valley Area Trails

Opportunities exist for hikers, bikers, horse riders and motorized atv/motorcycle riders. Trails are generally open for use from June1 to October 15, depending on elevation and access. Due to snowpack this year -- some of the higher elevation trails may not be accessible until mid-Summer. Trail difficulty rating is based on the degree of challenge a trail presents to an average user’s physical ability and skill. Call the Garden Valley Ranger Station for further information on difficulty, access and designation (motorized or non-motorized) -- 462-3241.

Some Trails close to

#025--Lightning Ridge--13.4 mi--motorized Deadwood drainage portion - non-motorized Middlefork drainage

#032--Rattlesnake--3.7 mi--hiking, biking, horse, motorcycle.

#034--Peace Creek--8.8 mi--hiking, biking, horse, motorcycle.

#036--Onion Valley--5.5 mi--hiking, biking, horse, motorcycle.

#038--Airline--10.1 mi--hiking, biking, horse, motorcycle.

Crouch include:

Garden Valley - Area Attractions

1 • Rocky Canyon

Hot Springs -- Middle Fork of the Payette River -- CAUTION -- Check on whether Middle Fork Road is open in EARLY SPRING before heading up to Boiling Springs Area!

12.5 miles from the intersection of Forest Road 698 (Middle Fork Rd.) and Hwy 17. Go 1.5 mi. past Hardscrabble Campground. Park in a pullout on your left. You’ll have to wade the river, which could be dangerous during high water. The spring emerges from the steep hillside near the mouth of Rocky Canyon. Bathers have chiseled out a family-size soaking pool well up the bank. A PVC pipe in the dam provides a great shower for the slightly cooler pool immediately below.

2 • Fire Crew

15 miles from the intersection of Forest Road 698 (Middle Fork Rd.) and Hwy 17. (2.5 miles past Rocky Canyon Hot Spring) to a junction at Trail Creek Campground. Take the left fork for .3 miles. Bear left on a rough spur ending at the river. A loop encircles an undeveloped camping area. The pools are out on a gravel bar to your right. The spring is on the river’s edge, but, on the near side. No river crossing necessary. Can get hot as the river drops -- some adjusting may be necessary!

3 • Boiling Springs

23 miles from the intersection of Forest Road 698 (Middle Fork Rd.) and Hwy 17, to the road-end campground and trailhead. Stroll .3 miles north on the trail to find the springs flowing down a bank beside a couple of cabins. The cabins, formerly a Forest Service guard station, are now rented to the public for recreational use. Please ask permission before entering and try to avoid the cabin area as much as possible. Steaming water emerges at 188 degrees from many fissures in a cliff just beyond the cabins, and a broad cascade streams down the hillside. One spring flows through a shallow soaking pool or two at the base. The water cools as it runs through a ditch across a wide meadow. A few rock-lined pools at the river’s edge are usually filled on weekends with kids from the nearby campground.

Garden Valley - Area Attractions

4 & 5 • Moondipper - Pine Burl

Take your choice of trails from Boiling Springs upriver. Two separate springs flow down the banks of a creek just above the river into a pair of scenic soakers spaced 50 yards apart along the tree-studded canyon. Both get swamped during high water, so fall is an ideal time go visit these spots. One trail, steep and slippery in spots, hugs the west side of the river all the way. This is the safer route during high water. The Middle Fork Trail is more direct, but you’ll have to ford several times in the 2-mile hike upstream. When you reach Dash Creek, the first side stream on the west side, you’ll find Moondipper 30 yards up the creek against a rocky bank. The large, sandy-bottomed pool can hold several happy soakers and offers a great view up the canyon. Pine Burl, a gem tucked out of sight a few bends up the creek, has a pool roughly 7 to 8 feet in diameter. The name, once inscribed on a small masonry dam at the downstream end, has eroded away, but the inspiration for it still sits up the hill on the north side. The spring perks up through the sandy bottom, and if the water gets too hot, you can shift the rocks at the other end to let creek water trickle in.

6 • Groundhog

1.3 miles beyond Moondipper and Pine Burl, there is little foot traffic, and the way is pretty brushy. Watch for Ground Hog Creek on the west bank shortly before the 8th ford of the river. Right after this crossing, the river makes a horseshoe bend to the right. Cross the river one last time to find the springs in the center of the curve on the east bank. Pool gets little use, so be prepared to move some rocks!

7

•

Bull Creek

Take Silver Creek Trail vs. Middle Fork. Drop down the far side of Silver Creek Summit into Bull Creek. Take Bull Creek Trail. Turn left and follow it 2.7 miles downstream above the north bank of Bull Creek. The trail drops steeply to a bridge over a small stream, then reaches another with no bridge. Look 30 feet uphill and climb up to reach the springs on a granite bluff overlooking the canyon. REMOTE and can get hot!

Boiling Springs Hot Springs where the water cascades down the hillside, with the guard station in the background.

The pool at Pineburl Hot Spring.

Garden Valley - Area Attractions

GOLF COURSE - POOL - TENNIS - RESTAURANT - LOUNGE - HOMESITES

Challenging 18-hole mountain golf course surrounded by tall pines and spectacular views!

Geothermal swimming pool, open year-round.

Restaurant and lounge for your convenience. With no need to cook, every weekend can be a vacation!

Winter fun includes sledding, snowmobiling, swimming and cross country skiing.

Visitors Welcome! Try the food & check out additional info on Terrace Lakes memberships & cabin/home sites. Call - 208462-3250 in Garden Valley 208-377-2121 in Boise. Ask for Ilene Johnson. www.terracelakes.com

Lodging

2 bedroom, 2 bath town houses

Sleeps 4-7 • One night - $224/night

Two or more nights - $189/night

50% off at pool

Two one room cabins • $79/night

Motel Rooms • $59/night Includes Use of Pool

Michael Koenig M.D. • Colton

Jared

Garden Valley: Monday- Friday 8:00-5:00

Horseshoe Bend: Monday-Thursday 8:00-5:00

Avimor: Monday-Thursday 8:00-5:00

• Women’s Health Care

• Pediatrics

• Immunizations

• Geriatrics

• Routine health care including management of acute and chronic conditions

• Pharmacy (for patients)

• Physical Therapy

• Lab Services

• Bi-Monthly Mammogram Services

• Covid Testing & Vaccines

Business Directory

Garden Valley - Services

Garden Valley - Services/Construction

Pioneer Estates

Horseshoe Bend

$175K - $295K

New subdivision in Horseshoe Bend. Borders Pioneer Rd on the east side of Horseshoe Bend. 2, 3 and 4 Acre Lots. Price Reduced! Underground power, approved for septics. Borders a creek. View of mountains and foothills. Low traffic area on the east side of Horseshoe Bend and the river. Signs are on the property and the lots. MLS 98852457

$699,000

Property sits above the #1 tee box at Terrace Lakes Resort with a terrific view. Recently updated with a cozy comfortable feel. 2460 SF includes 4 bed and 3 baths. All new flooring, new bathrooms, new kitchen and the new appliances are included. Lots of large windows. Walkout daylight basement includes an amazing game room w/pool table and TV. Huge laundry room and bar. Covered wrap around deck has heaters to enjoy the view and activities in the winter. A large storage shed and two car garage with attic storage. RV parking. Terrace Lakes offers a hot springs pool open year-round, 18 hole golf course, restaurant and lounge.

14 Leisure Lane • Terrace Lakes